It is estimated that more than 70 different chemicals have been used or stockpiled as chemical/biological weapon agents during the 20th century and the 21st century. Many of these agents can result in severe reactions in exposed individuals, including death. Some of the more familiar chemical/biological agents include nerve agents, such as sarin, soman, and tabun; vesicants, such as mustard gas and lewisite; and biological toxins, such as anthrax.
The risk of exposure to such chemical and biological agents is an ever increasing concern for military personnel as well as civilians. This concern is particularly heightened in view of recent terrorist attacks. In particular, terrorist threats involving such agents are increasing in the United States as well as abroad. For many terrorist organizations, chemical weapons might be considered an ideal choice for a mode of attack because of their potential to be widely dispersed to thereby maximize casualties. For example, on Mar. 20, 1995, Aum Shinirikyo, an apocalyptic group based in Japan released sarin into the Tokyo subway system killing 12 and injuring more than 5,000. Additionally, a skilled chemist can readily synthesize most chemical agents if the precursors are available.
Chemical/biological weapon agents are generally classified as persistent or nonpersistent according to the length of time they remain effective after dissemination. Agents classified as nonpersistent typically lose effectiveness after only a few minutes or hours. Purely gaseous agents such as chlorine are nonpersistent, as are highly toxic volatile agents such as sarin and most other nerve agents. By contrast, persistent agents can remain in the environment for an extended length of time, such as a week or longer. As a result, decontamination of effected areas and surfaces can be complicated and problematic. In particular, non-volatile liquid agents, such as blister agents and the oily VX nerve agent, do not easily evaporate into a gas, and therefore can present a contact hazard that can linger on an exposed surface long after an initial exposure. For example, chemical agents can be present in the bodies and remains of humans for a significant duration of time following death. Further, biological toxins that have been introduced into a human being may remain potentially dangerous even after the host has been deceased.
In the context of human remains handling, under conventional practice, deceased individuals are stored and transported in remains vessels, commonly referred to as “body bags.” Typically, such body bags are effective for their intended purposes under normal conditions. However, in circumstances involving exposure to chemical or biological agents, conventional body bags may not provide the desired level of containment. In particular, while the body bag provides protection to personnel handling the contaminated body or remains, the body/remains may still continue to carry the chemical and/or biological contamination, which can then be released if and when the bag is reopened. As a result, secondary exposure to the chemical and/or biological can occur.
In response to this threat, various countermeasures have been developed that are capable of neutralizing certain chemical/biological weapon agents. For example, decontamination formulations are available that utilize reactive nanoparticles to neutralize the effects of many of these agents by chemically destroying or otherwise altering the toxic nature of the agent. In general, such countermeasures are available in creams or lotions that can be applied to the skin, or as liquids or fogs/sprays that can be applied to exposed surfaces for neutralizing the chemical or biological agent. However, in such applications, the effectiveness of the decontamination formulation is limited by the ability to provide the neutralizing agent at the location of the chemical or biological agent and in a sufficient concentration for providing sustained protection. Accordingly, there exists a need for a system that can be used to effectively protect a surface from contact with chemical or biological agents, or that can be used to effectively decontaminate an exposed surface.